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Will Potter has joined the Asbury Park city council race and is seeking a seat on the dais.

Potter is running on the incumbent-led Forward Asbury Park ticket with Deputy Mayor John M. Loffredo, council members Sue Henderson and Kevin Sanders, and fellow newcomer Gregory Hopson.

Potter replaced Joe Grillo on the incumbents’ slate after the latter decided not to seek candidacy shortly before the city’s filing deadline.

Potter, 46, lives at the Presidential apartment complex on Park Avenue. He has lived in Asbury Park for six year.

Born and raised in Monmouth County, he has also lived in Ocean Township and Hazlet. He moved to Asbury Park because of the city’s diversity, its beaches and its urban feel, he said.

“It’s nice to be part of the resurgence of the city,” he added.

He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Flagler College and a masters degree in social work from New York University.

Potter currently works as a school social worker in the Long Branch school district’s alternative high school with students who quality for special education services. Potter has also worked in Asbury Park, primarily in the west side of the city.

In Asbury Park, he worked for the Easter Seals, managing a group of adults with psychiatric issues who needed transitional housing, and for a YMCA in-home therapy program, mainly with adolescents. He has also worked with the elderly and volunteered for the Special Olympics.

Potter lives alone but has two daughters, Fiona, 15, and Claire, 14, who live in Ocean Township, he said.

Potter belongs to the New Jersey Education Association [NJEA], Garden State Equality, Monmouth County Education Association and the Asbury Park Democratic Committee. He’s the president of the Long Branch teachers’ union and represents close to 700 people in that position.

He is the NJEA’s Monmouth County chairperson for government relations, so he often meets with legislators and lobbies for education issues, he said.

Asbury Park is currently “at a very critical point,” Potter said. “It’s at a crossroads. I think the current council has really brought a lot of positive change to the city, and I would like to see that continue.”

As an educator who has worked with young children and people in need, Potter could use his work experience to improve the city, he said.

“I understand the challenges [Asbury Park youth] face and even some of the needs that maybe are not being met,” he said.

Potter feels it’s important to unite the city and not look at it as East Side vs. West Side, he said. As president of the Long Branch teachers’ union, he has experience in bringing people together, he said.

“You have to have the ability to work with everyone because it’s the city and the residents we are serving,” he said. “There is no individual agenda here.”

Potter is supportive of the plan to bring a skate park to the city’s West Side, and would like to see even more recreation programs for the city’s youth.

“It might sound like a simple thing, but I have two teenagers, too, and all I hear is, ‘There’s nothing to do,'” he said. “I believe in … giving them the opportunity to experience new things.”

As a council member, Potter would reach out to different agencies to expand the city’s offerings, he said. This could include theatrical groups, mentor programs or Career Day events.

To Potter, one of the most important issues in the city is continuing redevelopment “in a positive way and a smart way,” he said.

He also hopes to see crime rates decrease, noting that juvenile crime in the city has decreased substantially. He hopes to draw on his work experience in helping young people to choose a different path.

“It’s very sad to me when I hear students who I work with say, ‘I don’t see myself reaching 30 years old,'” he said. “They’re living for that very moment and sometimes they are impulsive. I try to work with my kids to slow them down.”

Mainly, he wants to see the city residents unite, regardless of what part of town they call home.

“We’re all neighbors,” he said. “We’re all in this together. It’s probably the most difficult thing to do, but I really think that’s important.”

Potter accepted the incumbents’ invitation to join their ticket because he feels they have “a proven track record of success,” he said. “I felt very honored that they asked me to be on their ticket.”

This election will have an impact on the city for a long time, Potter said.

“It’s very important that people take this election very seriously,” he said.

The Asbury Park city council election will take place on May 14. All five council seats are up for grabs, with 22 candidates seeking spots on the dais. The current council’s terms end on June 30, with new four-year terms beginning on July 1.

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